Wolves dropped their interest in McLeod after having a £600,000 bid rejected and reports suggest they are now chasing Mellor, who featured in the side for the first half of last season.

Hoddle has about £2 million to spend to strengthen his side and has made signing a striker a priority. Mellor has been tracked by several Championship sides, including Sheffield United and Stoke, and is rated in the £1 million bracket by Liverpool.

He has made 21 first-team appearances for the Reds, scoring six goals. However, he was forced to undergo surgery on both knees last March and has not appeared since.

Meanwhile, Paul Ince has urged Wolves fans to show their support for Leon Clarke, for the good of the team.

The young striker secured Wolves' place in the fourth round of the FA Cup with his goal against Plymouth Argyle on Saturday, however the style of his celebration - his finger pressed defiantly to his lips - sparked anger among some of the club's supporters.

The veteran midfielder immediately moved to get the youngster's attention back on the match, saying: "I spoke to Leon after the game and told him it was a bit over the top.

"The only way to answer your critics is to do your job well, and for Leon that means putting the ball in the back of the net, which he did.

"I'd just ask the fans to stick with him, the goal has given him a lot of confidence and hopefully he'll be able to push on from here.

"We have another game on Friday and the last thing we need is for fans to boo one of the centre-forwards, that's not good for the player or the team.

"Leon knows he should have done better this season, and there are other things that have been said and done, but let's try to move on."